


Sojourn

by aiikii



Category: Aphmau's Minecraft Diaries, Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft diaries - Fandom, aphmau - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, First Meetings, M/M, MCD S1, MCD Season 1, Minecraft Diaries - Aphmau, Minecraft Diaries Season 1, Nether, Sasha (Minecraft Diaries) - Freeform, Shadowknight, Slow Burn, its 2 am see if i care, still dont know how to tag things whoops!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-14 01:39:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19263385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aiikii/pseuds/aiikii
Summary: Laurance meets the Nether's most interesting prisoner.





	Sojourn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes u just gotta write shadowknight angst at 2 in the morning!! thats just how it b! aaaaaaa this has been in my drafts for a month and i need to post it before ao3 obliterates it from existence dsfhjgfdssfd. i want to like,,, show my interpretation of how vylad and laurance met in the nether, but i also want them to like Talk More than i put in this chapter mndsfhjfds. or just like. be longer in general. maybe ill make a part 2,,, some day,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, aaaaaA whatever i cant fix this anymore cuz my head hurts and if i leave this in my drafts any longer i will Cry. so here u go. happy birthday. its your birthday now.

It had been a full week in the Nether, and Laurance was already tired of it.

His joy at seeing Sasha, his childhood friend, alive (well, as alive as a Shadowknight could be considered) was his only solace down here, and it was quickly drowned out by the blistering heat and the sullen knights that walked the halls. He had tried to find the positives- really, he did, but it was hard to stay positive while stuck in what was literally hell. Sasha had given him a tour of the place, they'd had plenty of time to talk and catch up, and as glad as he was to reunite with his old friend, there was something off about her that made it hard to believe the encouragement she gave. It felt off, fake- yes it was Sasha, but she was different now.

He hoped desperately that whatever had changed her would not change him.

A week was enough for Laurance to begin to lose his sanity in this place. The blasted armor that he couldn't get off was starting to dig into him. It was no different weight than any armor he'd worn before, but sometimes he swore it was too heavy for him to even move. He felt constantly irritated, his frustration only growing with each day. He wasn't sure if it was a side-effect of what he'd become, or if it was just the bits of netherrack sand he kept getting in his eye. Sasha told him that in the Overworld, it hadn't even been a day. Maybe that's what had changed her- being confined to this scorching prison would drive anyone insane. He needed a way out, and although Sasha's insistence ("There was no way out," that he "wouldn't be allowed out yet even if there was.") was the most genuine-sounding, Sasha-like response he had gotten from her yet, it was maybe the one that bothered him the most.

He was tired of the ingenuity he got from every person, everything, tired of taking no for an answer, and VERY tired of pledging loyalty to some Shadow Lord (who he was pretty sure was the bad guy here, though Sasha kept insisting he shouldn't say things like that, and Gene did a pretty good job of trying to convince him otherwise). He needed something out of the loop of lies, something from home, someone to get him _to_ home, something to keep him from going crazy while he was trapped here. Sadly, he didn't know anyone like that.

Or at least, not personally. Though a person came to mind.

Maybe it was time to meet someone new.

 

The metal of his boots made loud clanking echos as he walked down the hall. Each step kept him cautious, each loud echo reminded him to hold his head high- at least pretend he was confident in what he was doing before some higher ranking Shadowknight realized she shouldn't have been there and stopped him. He had never been down this hall before- at least not alone. Sasha had passed it quickly when she'd shown him around, she clearly wasn't too keen on staying, or encouraging him to spend time here. Perhaps if he were in any other situation, he would have taken her implied advice. But Laurance was getting desperate. He walked quicker as he approached the room and turned the corner- his confidence, fake or not, could only last for so long.

He looked slightly different than he'd expected. When Sasha mentioned some crazy rouge Shadowknight, he expected him to look a bit more insane. Like Castor, maybe. This man looked nothing like his old chicken friend, though. In fact, as far as he could tell, they couldn't be any further of opposites. The man in the cell was quiet, reserved, didn't even look up as Laurance entered the room. Somewhat shoulder-length brown hair hid bits of his face, it looked unkempt- knotted and messy. The man wasn't even wearing Shadowknight armor- Laurance would've doubted he was one at all if it wasn't for the aura he could feel radiating from him. Instead he had a worn green scarf that hid the lower half of his face, a dirty tunic, beaten up old boots, belts that looked like they might have strapped on armor at one point in time. He sat slouched against the left wall of his cell, head down, arms crossed, tapping his finger against his arm in a steady rhythm Laurance couldn't hear.

"Hey," Laurance tried. The man in the cell didn't budge, save for the tapping, didn't even open his eyes to acknowledge him.

 **"Hey,"** He tried, a bit louder this time, still to no avail.

Frustrated, he slammed a hand to the bars. It was halfhearted at best- but the clang that resounded from it made him wince at how loud it was. He hated the damn gloves, but down here in the Nether all his Shadowknight gear seemed impossible to get off. (Sasha said the skill would come with time, but it clearly wasn't soon enough.)

He sat down, still staring expectantly at the man behind bars. It wasn't like the other man was going anywhere anytime soon, he'd have to acknowledge him at some point. And so he sat. And waited. And waited. It was clear the other man had much more practice, patience, more  _something_ than him, Laurance fidgeted all over the place while the knight behind bars continued to stay still (save for the tapping of his finger still, really the only indicator that he was still even alive in his cage.)

Laurance was nearly ready to give up when the stranger behind the bars moved. It was slight, barely noticeable as the man tried to stealthily open an eye to check if Laurance was still waiting outside, but the fact that literally nothing else was happening in the room drew enough attention to it for Laurance to notice him. Laurance caught his glance, and the other quickly looked back and away from him, but knew it was too late. He sighed. He'd acknowledged him, now he'd have to deal with it.

 _"What."_  

Laurance didn't have to be very observative to know that the stranger was very clearly annoyed.

"I just want to talk."

"What you _want_ is a way out of here." Laurance looked at him shocked, it was as if he'd just read his mind. Vylad sighed, _duh, obviously,_  as if to call him an idiot, and continued.

"I've heard you talking with Sasha outside before. There's not exactly any solid walls between here and outside, just these bars. And the halls tend to echo." He trailed off.

"Oh." Laurance spoke quietly, a bit of sheepishness clogging his throat. Vylad didn't wait for him.

"... Besides, it's understandable. Predictable. Nobody wants to live in this hell, not one person. I hoped you would understand- you gave your life, sacrificed yourself so that your friends would be safe. I just sacrificed the exit so that they could stay safe a bit longer." His voice grew quieter as he talked. "There is no escape for us now. We've made our choices."

He shook his head and sighed, moving his gaze away from Laurance and his shocked expression and back to the wall across from him, his already quiet voice shrunk into a whisper.

"I'm sorry. I can't help you."

 

Laurance sat there for a moment, stunned into silence, he took a moment to register everything the stranger had said. When it finally caught up to him, he growled, and slammed his fist into the ground in anger. He couldn't see it, he was too consumed in his own rage, but the stranger across from him flinched slightly athis outburst and closed his eyes, resigned once again. Laurance sat there for a moment in an effort to calm down. Was he always this angry? He blinked tears out of his eyes that he didn't even realize were there. He understood now why the stranger seemed so indifferent- it made no difference whether he was the one behind bars or not. This dimension, the Shadowknights, the Shadow Lord was one big cage, and no matter what the other knights pretended, nobody was getting out.

Realizing he was doing nothing now but making a fool of himself in front of the stranger, he quickly stood up and attempted to collect himself. Luckily for him, the stranger wasn't watching his little breakdown, his eyes weren't even open. Laurance gave him one last glance as he exited the room, leaving the prisoner to his own thoughts.

 

Vylad assumed that would be the last time talking to the man.

He assumed wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yee Haw! My name is Aiki, and I still care about minecraft roleplays.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at http://vylad-stan.tumblr.com/ (vylad-stan) and http://aiki-art.tumblr.com/ (aiki-art). Im also on instagram now at https://www.instagram.com/aiki.art/ (aiki.art)!!


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